Before & After: A Cabinet Refresh Gets Out of Control (In the Best Way)

Sometimes, you get caught up in the moment. Nicola started off with a short and manageable to-do list and then kept adding more to it, in the best way possible. Luckily IKEA helped keep her costs low as her to-do list grew.

(Image credit: Submitted by Nicola)

From Nicola:

What went from a planned cabinet refresh by painting over the blue cabinets and changing the handles, turned into a full kitchen renovation including new floating floors throughout the unit, fresh white paint, IKEA gloss white cabinets, laminate bench top and a tiled back splash that we did ourselves.

We framed the window to make it seem bigger and added the horizontal blinds to filter the unpleasant unit block view. The u-shape kitchen allowed plenty of room for a massive 900mm (about 36 inches) wide bench which acts as a great breakfast bar for guests to sit at while we cook in our beautiful new kitchen.

We chose IKEA cabinets because of all the features like soft close doors and drawers and the massive discount in price compared to custom made. We chose the laminate bench because of its durability, which would be great since the unit will one day be rented out and we wanted to invest in what would last long term. The total price for the new kitchen cabinets, appliances, bench top, tiles, flooring, labor and fittings was AU $11,000 ($8,467). This included the new flooring throughout the two bedroom, two bathroom apartment.